Family Ties
by DLFanged
Summary: Five years later... Charlie has become extremely attached to Renesmee;however,his relationship with Nessie and the Cullens, has implications. Charlie discovers a whole new "reality", bringing new obstacles to the Cullen's. Part II - New beginnings...
1. Chapter 1 Charlie

_*******__**plotline references as well as all of the characters in this fanfiction belong to Stephenie Meyer (with the exception of a few new characters that I created and introduced to the story – you will know who they are.)*****_

Chapter 1

Charlie

It had now been almost five years since Charlie met Renesmee; five years since he made the agreement with Jacob not to ask any questions about what we were and that in exchange, we would be able to stay in Forks.

We all knew that Charlie's "need to know" agreement would eventually end. Edward had already read the theories going through Charlie's mind, theories that were too close to the truth. Theories that Charlie chose to ignore as he was afraid that by breaking the "agreement" we would have to leave.

Truth is, eventually we would have to leave. As the years passed, all of Fork's humans, the ones that graduated with us, were aging; all but us. Even acknowledging the facts, I could not bare to be away from Charlie; to take Renesmee, the joy of his like, away from him. I had already lost Renee, having to keep distance from her, for her own protection. Loosing Charlie would be too much.

Interesting enough, the same day I had spent hours conflicting whether it was time to leave, Alice had one of her visions. Her eyes cold, trying to focus on her vision, searching for more information, gave me a feeling I had only once before, the same feeling when I found out the Volturi were coming for us.

Alice blinked once and stared into my eyes; I could read the pain in her eyes as I begged her to tell me what she had seen. Renesmee was outside with Jacob, Edward tightly holding my hand. He was frozen in place, I was sure he had already read Alice's thoughts.

Alice then, in a broken voice started to tell me that in her vision, the Volturi were coming for Charlie, that they were certain he knew too much. I could feel the agony in her voice, the same agony I felt. Alice had always seen Charlie as a father figure and so, choosing her words carefully, she continued…

"Bella, there is no way around this, there is no way to fight it. I can see Charlie as one of us, just like I saw you."

Unexpectedly, I selfishly felt eager to make Charlie one of us. I wouldn't have to lose him. Renesmee would always have him in her life. But there were so many questions, what would Charlie want, how would he react to the newborn state? I had to organize my thoughts so I asked Alice:

"How long do we have?"

"Less than two days, they are already on their way"

That must had been what she meant about not having a way around this. Edward as expected was upset.

"Bella, I know you want your father with you" he didn't have to read my mind to know that "…but he must still have a choice. It is time to tell him the truth, or should I say, it is time to confirm his theory. If he decides that we are all insane, which is likely, we will do what we have to protect him."

"But who would…" I didn't have to finish my question; Edward instantly interrupted me, affirming that he would talk to Carlisle about turning Charlie, if that was Charlie's choice.

That evening we had a meeting in the dining room. We all knew that we took it too far. That Charlie knew too much, even if he pretended not to. The meeting went smoothly, it was decided that Edward and I would talk to Charlie and depending on what he decided, Carlisle would step in with the rest of the plan.

Just when we were finishing it up, we heard Charlie's cruiser close to the house. He was coming to see Renesmee, as he did every day.

Charlie had always been perceptive, mostly due to his job, but over the past few years, he became even more perceptive and cautions. As he walked in we could see in his eyes that he could feel the tension in the room. Jacob and Renesmee were out hunting so we had some time to talk before they came in.

"What is going on Bells? Is everything alright?"

"Dad, we need to talk." I spoke in a hesitant voice. I didn't even know where to start.

All of the Cullen's expect for Edward and I, left the room.

Charlie sat, looking concerned; his first question was if we were leaving. That seemed to be what he feared the most.

Edward held my hand and looked into my eyes, giving me the strength to go on.

"Dad, we need to talk about the "need to know agreement", it is time for the truth."

He hesitated in saying anything, the fear of us leaving haunted him. "We will not leave dad, not unless you are with us."

He seemed to relax a little. "Go on Bella."

"Dad, there have been complications. Your theories of what we are…well, your theories are correct."

Charlie looked like he had seen a ghost, it was one thing to assume theories, but to have them confirmed it is a whole different story. I figured I might as well just tell him everything and then let him process the information. Charlie just sat frozen in place, as I continued …

"Dad, we took this too far. You are at risk, you shouldn't know as much as you do." He seemed to understand, or at least pretended very well that he did understand.

"What are my options?" he asked in a firm, confident voice

"Well, we could protect you, but the risk will be high." I should have left that next part out, but I was once again being selfish. "If we do that we will have to send Renesmee away with Jacob, so they will not be at risk."

"And the alternative option" he looked as if he already knew the answer as he asked the question.

I wasn't sure quite how to phrase this. "Well you could be a Cullen" Even with the tension, my choice of words seemed to amuse Edward.

Charlie's breathing at that point was uneven, he looked disoriented. "This is a lot to process Bells." He stood up and started to walk back and forth, looking as if he wanted to just run out of there.

That was when Renesmee came in, smiling at Charlie. At that moment, the look in his eyes went from fear to certainty. I turned to Edward, knowing he was reading Charlie's mind. Edward, surprised by Charlie's reaction, whispered "He is not staying away from Renesmee."

As Charlie was giving Renesmee a warm hug, he looked over at me and the fear gone, he simply stated "Just tell me when and where Bells."


	2. Chapter 2 Acceptance

Chapter 2

Acceptance

Charlie's willingness of accepting this new reality had caught us all by surprise. I at least expected a number of questions. Edward turned to me, and said I needed to talk to Charlie alone. He stated that Charlie did have many questions going through his mind and that he would feel more comfortable talking to me alone.

Edward excused himself so that he could talk to Carlisle, and he asked Jacob and Renesmee to follow him.

In spite of his willingness to become one of us, Charlie looked disoriented; it was clear that he had many unanswered questions.

"Dad, I know you have questions." I said in a concerned voice. "Go ahead and ask them."

"Bells, I just don't understand, how did this happen to you? Did he? ... Did Edward force you into this?" He asked in an upset voice.

"No dad, Edward was actually against it" I said rolling my eyes.

"Then how? Why?"

My tone changed to a low appreciative voice as I answered his question. "Edward actually saved me. When I had Renesmee; and yes, she is our daughter as you suspected. Well, I was dying after she was born and that is when Edward saved me."

Charlie's look was close to impossible to explain, I assumed that horror would have been his reaction, but instead, I could see that he was grateful. He was silent as if he was in deep thought, when I broke his concentration.

"Dad?!"

He turned to me and I figured it would be easier if I just started talking about our way of life, instead of having him ask the painful questions.

"Dad, I was in your place once, in a way, so I will just tell you what I recall were my questions at the time. The Cullen's are actually not the typical vampires you read about or watch in movies. They don't kills humans, they feed on animals."

"So, how is Jacob still alive?" he asked in a sarcastic tone. That seemed to break the ice. I couldn't help it but to laugh. Wow! How could Charlie make a joke out of this?

"Dad! ... Jacob and the rest of the reservation actually developed a good relationship with the Cullen's… let's say that wolves are an exception to our diet."

"Hmm! So I assume the whole dying if going in the daylight thing is a myth?"

"Yes, dad."

I wish Edward was in the room right now, I sure hoped he was listening to Charlie's thoughts so he could tell me what they were.

"So, how does one become…" He asked in a curious but calm voice.

"Well dad, we are going to let Carlisle explain that to you, he has more experience with that whole process."

"Sounds fair enough… I guess. But before you get Carlisle, why exactly me knowing too much, puts me in danger?"

"Long story short, dad, and you love rules so you should understand this; we have our own set of rules to follow. Rules that ensure we are not exposed, not that you would tell anyone, but there is this coven, the Volturi; they are like "the vampire police", they enforce those rules."

"How did they find out?" he still asked questions in a calm voice. He did not seem to be scared at all, only curious.

"Some of us have powers, like reading minds or seeing the future, like Alice, she is the one who warned us about them coming. One of the Volturi's must have used one of those powers to find out."

That seemed to amuse him, like these unexpected and unexplained things kept coming up.

"…and do you have one of those special abilities, Bells?"

"I think we should get back to that another time dad. It is late, and we only have 3 days until they are supposed to be here." He nodded.

As I turned to get Carlisle, I saw that he was already there. Carlisle came in and sat across from Charlie. Edward stood by me. Carlisle seemed calmed as usual, he turned to Charlie and asked if he had any more questions before he explained what was about to happen.

Charlie, once again, with a sarcastic tone, turned to Carlisle and asked:

"Well, who is going to be the one who will bite me?" Even Carlisle who took this situation more serious than anyone else, could help but to laugh.

"What is it with the Swam family and not being scared or taking things seriously?" Edward asked confused with Charlie's reaction.

Carlisle then started to explain to Charlie that my transformation had been a smooth one, so they would try to get it as close as possible to it, of course, without the whole giving birth part of it!

He explained his beliefs were that my awareness and acceptance of what would happen, helped me during my newborn state; but if that was to be any different with Charlie, we would all be around to prevent any "damage", keeping him from going out in town to feed on the residents that he now protects. He also explained that they would get the venon injected straight to his heart, making the transformation process faster, due to the venon spreading faster that way.

Charlie listened to it all very carefully, nodding at everything he heard, as if nothing else surprised him.

Carlisle turned to me and explained that before anything was done, he would have to clear it with Jacob, ensuring that their treaty would not be broken. Jacob was already aware that something was happening, but he was not so sure of what exactly it entailed.

We noticed Charlie had rolled his eyes when Jacob's name was mentioned, he instantly responded to our curiosity.

"So, the wolf makes the big decisions around here?"

"Well dad, I have to say, you sound like Rosalie when referring to Jacob. It is kind of funny."

I started to wonder how Charlie would react when he found out that Jacob had imprinted on Renesmee, but this was not the time for that. Edward looked like he was trying not to laugh and I could only imagine that he was wondering the same thing.

My thoughts on that were brutally interrupted by the thought of Charlie enduring pain during the transformation. I had never told Carlisle that the morphine I was given before my transformation never worked, I had hoped I would never have to tell him that. Would that keep Carlisle from turning Charlie? Either way I had to say something, maybe this way Carlisle would think of an alternative for the pain. The worse part of this was the thought of Edward knowing that I had felt everything during my transformation. I couldn't even image what his reaction would have been…It was time for the truth.


	3. Chapter 3 Painful Truth

Chapter 3

Painful Truth

Charlie realized how late it was and left. He was going to have a long day at work tomorrow finding a temporary replacement. Truth is, we did not know how long Charlie would have to wait to go back to work, or in matter of fact, we didn't know if he would ever be able to go back. For the time being, I wasn't too concerned with the reason he was giving for taking time off work. I am sure he would come up with something; after all, Charlie had become great in making up stories. Renee, as instance, thought Edward and I were living overseas for years now.

Right after Charlie left, Alice and Jasper joined Edward, Carlisle and I in the living room. I called Carlisle's attention by mentioning that I had something important to discuss.

"Carlisle, I never thought I would have to reveal this, but…" there was no easy way to say this "…well, the morphine that I was given during my transformation did not work as well as I led you to believe."

"What exactly do you mean Bella? What did you feel?" He asked in a surprised and curious tone.

I could already see the shock in Edward's eyes, so I carefully chose my words, trying to say the least I could and still give Carlisle the information he would need to keep Charlie from the burning pain.

I slowly looked down, in an attempt to avoid Edward's gaze, but suddenly I could feel that my emotions were being controlled by Jasper. I suddenly felt relaxed and confident. Edward must have been reading Jasper's mind, as he got even closer to me, placing his arm around my waist. I glanced at Edward, and even though he was trying to comfort me, I could see the agony in his eyes. Why wasn't Jasper trying to control Edward's emotions instead of mine?!

I suddenly noticed Carlisle looked eager for my answer so I decided to take advantage of Jasper's influence and started explaining.

"Well, the morphine helped, I guess. I had full knowledge of what was going on, and I had enough control of the pain to keep me from moving or screaming, but I still felt everything; the burning in my veins."

Edward shivered; he was now holding me tighter. Carlisle looked as if he was deep in thought, when I heard Alice's cheerful voice.

"That will work! There will still be pain, but it will be manageable."

"Alice?! What will work?" I asked in a pleading tone.

Carlisle faced me to explain what he had decided to try; Alice had seen that the decision he made would work.

"We can still use the morphine, maybe more of it will help; after all, you were able to keep us from knowing that you were in pain, which indicates it helped the process. I remember Esme, Edward, and Rosalie, and even Emmet; they were screaming for days, until it was all over. But this time, we will use Jasper to control Charlie's emotions. You know how sometimes humans use placebos in medical treatments? That would be somewhat like it. That will not eliminate the pain completely, but it should help; well, according to Alice, it will help."

I felt relieved. Edward still seemed to be struggling with the fact that I had been in so much pain. He never understood the need I felt to protect him; the same need he felt towards me…

Edward tried to hide his emotions, he kissed my forehead and stood up, now facing Carlisle, he asked: "So all we need now is to talk to Jacob about protecting the treaty, right?"

Carlisle nodded.

We decided to wait until the morning to talk to Jacob. Everyone except for Alice and I decided to go hunting tonight. Renesmee was sleeping and Jacob was probably outside keeping guard. That was completely unnecessary, but Jacob could not stand the Volturi. As soon as he heard they were coming he felt the need to guard the house.

I was now on my laptop doing some research of my own on pain medications; Alice was bored, and decided to rearrange some of the pictures in the living room. My concentration was broken with the loud noise coming from Alice's direction.

She had dropped one of the picture frames, and just stood there. Right away I knew that she "saw" something.

I was terrified; I had never seen her face so pale, he eyes so widened.

Alice! … ALICE!

Alice slowly, gracefully moved her face towards me. She looked as terrified as I was.

"Bella, it is about Charlie, he is in danger! You need to get Jacob, now!"

"Is it the Volturi? Are they early?" I asked in a broken voice.

Alice seemed, scared?! "No, Bella, it is job related…. But we are almost out of time… Get Jacob! I will explain it on the way there."

Without wasting any more time, I went to look for Jacob.


	4. Chapter 4 Treaty

Chapter 4

Treaty

I hurried outside as fast as I could. As expected, Jacob was standing by the front door, guarding the house.

I spoke so fast, I was surprised Jacob was able to understand what I was saying.

"Jacob, Alice asked me to come and get you. It is urgent!"

"Is it about the Volturi?" he asked in an almost rude voice.

Jacob had been upset because he was still unaware of the reason behind the Volturi's visit. All he knew was that they were coming, and that Renesmee was not in danger. We had kept the true reason from him, because we wanted to make sure of what to do about Charlie before we actually mentioned breaking the treaty. After all, there was no reason to start that discussion any earlier than what we would have to.

"No, Jacob. It is about Charlie! Please, there is no time. Alice needs to speak with you right away."

The concern in my voice must have got his attention as he followed me in without any further unnecessary questions.

As soon as we walked into the living room, Alice ordered me to go get one of the cars.

"One of the fast ones!" She insisted, as if any of the cars in garage were slow.

As I started walking towards the garage, I could still hear Alice and Jacob. Alice didn't even wait for Jacob to ask what she wanted.

"Jacob, I saw Charlie getting shot. I am not sure how soon it will happen, my vision was unclear. It could be minutes from now. I am heading to the place where this is supposed to happen and I need your permission to break the treaty if there is a need to."

I froze in place. I couldn't go any further until I heard Jacob's response.

Jacob knew exactly what Alice meant by breaking the treaty. It wasn't about staying out of the reservation, but turning Charlie into a vampire. He now, sounded irritated.

"I can't Alice. I can't keep making exceptions to the treaty! Next thing we know I will be responsible for turning everyone in town into bloodsuckers!"

I turned around and walked straight back into the living room. I was infuriated and directed all of my anger towards Jacob.

"Why do you have to be so difficult?!"

Alice rolled her eyes. "I will go get the car! We are wasting time…" and she left mumbling something to herself.

Then, I said something I knew I would regret later. Using emotional "blackmail" to manipulate people was not something that I saw as acceptable behavior, but I saw no other alternative.

"Jacob, think about Nessie. How do you think she will feel if something happens to Charlie?" As the words came out, I already felt horrible.

Jacob shook his head, looking down. He could not deny the pain that Renesmee would feel if she lost her grandfather.

"Fine!" He said in a frustrated tone. "There is one condition. I will go with you and I will determine if there is no other way out."

That seemed reasonable, so I agreed. There was just one problem. "But, who will stay with Nessie?"

"Alice will." He said, determined.

Alice was honking the horn in the driveway. She was driving Jasper's new "toy". A Mercedes AMG SL65. Jasper had been bragging about this car for days, and that was the only reason I remember what kind of car it was. Jasper was going to be furious with us.

That must have been the first car that Alice came across. Where did she expect us to put Charlie? Well, I guess Charlie would have the cruiser with him. Jacob could probably drive the cruiser back.

As Jacob and I walked outside and I suddenly realized that if we were too late, I would have to turn Charlie. I felt the panic and anxiety running through my body. I wished Jasper was here to control my emotions. I would not know what to do. I could kill Charlie, instead of saving him!

Jacob walked to the driver's side of the car and told Alice that he was going, and that he was driving. He also demanded to know where the location was. Alice looked at me confused, but I ignored her gaze. I now had other concerns in my mind.

"Bella?!" Alice seemed confused by the turn of events. Alice called my name once more, breaking my focus from the awful different scenarios going through my head.

"Alice, we need you to stay with Renesmee. This is the only way Jacob will agree to this."

Alice got out of the car and walked towards me. I had never seen her so nervous.

"Bella, I know that Charlie should be on his way to the location. There is not much time left. The decision of Jacob going with you has been made, so I can no longer see what will happen. You know the impact that Jacob and the other wolves have on my visions."

"Alice, I… I won't know what to do. What if I hurt Charlie?"

"Get in the car Bella. I will be right back."

Alice ran inside the house. By the time I got inside the car she was already coming back. She was now holding a small silver box. The box was big enough to probably fit a pen or two inside. Alice handed me the box and I opened it to find a small syringe inside it.

"Bella, the syringe has venon in it. If things get bad, just stick it in Charlie's heart. Do not let this box out of your sight, not even for a second!"

Then, she turned to Jacob, hurrying to give him the information he would need.

"Jacob. Like I said, I can no longer see anything so I will tell you what I saw in my first vision. You need to go to the Newton's store. There has been, or there will be a robbery. I saw two men responsible for the robbery, but they may be gone by the time you get there. I also saw someone else with chief Swan and he will be hit with the first shot… If you are too late and Bella uses the syringe, then you need to help Bella get Chief Sawn back over here as soon as possible."

Alice turned to me again and handed me a cell phone.

"Keep this on you at all times and call me if you don't know what to do. Don't panic! I see that Carlisle and the others are on their way back from hunting. They should not be much longer. As soon as they get back I will send them to the Newton's store to clean up the mess. Now, go!"

I took a deep breath and gazed at Jacob. Jacob hit the accelerator and drove off.


	5. Chapter 5 FatherDaughter Moment

Chapter 5

Father-Daughter Moment

Jacob drove to the Newton's store as fast as he could, he must have been going almost a hundred miles per hour, if not more; my mind was preoccupied. Even with his driving, I still had plenty of time to reflect on all of the moments that I ever had with my father. Strangely, I couldn't help but to be grateful that he had stayed in Forks after Renee left him, taking me with her; after all, if all of my human life events hadn't happened the way it did, I might have never met Edward.

I suddenly heard Jacob's concerned voice. "Bella, I can see Charlie's cruiser."

We were only a block away when he said that. All I could do was hope that we weren't too late to save Charlie. I kept repeating Alice's words in my head. "Don't panic".

Jacob slammed on the brakes right in front of the Newton's store. It was now around three in the morning and the streets were empty. All of the shops around the Newton's store also closed down early, so there was no one in sight.

Jacob and I both ran towards the store, when we heard two gun shots. Jacob made sure I was behind him the whole time. Like I was the one who needed protection?! One of the windows was broken and so, Jacob made his way in.

Two men on the back of the store saw Jacob and ran towards the back door.

"Bella, you take care of Charlie. Call 911 if there is time to save him!"

And just like that, Jacob phased into his wolf form and went after the robbers, leaving me alone to decide Charlie's fate.

I glanced around the store. I immediately saw one of Charlie's men, David Harris. He had been shot on the leg, a flesh wound, but seemed that he hit his head on the way down. I checked on him really fast, while looking around to find Charlie. I was no doctor but it seemed like he was just unconscious. It only took me a few seconds to check on him, still looking around for Charlie, I suddenly felt thirsty. There was now a scent in the room that was getting stronger by the second.

I followed the scent… and there he was.

Charlie was on the floor, in the back room, where the Newton's kept their paperwork and the safe. He had been shot on the right side of his chest and he was losing a lot of blood. I heard him whisper my name.

"I am here dad. You will be fine".

He was in and out of consciousness. Jacob was still not back, and I was definitely not a doctor. How would I know if he could be saved if I called 911? Then I started to panic. Would Jacob void the treaty if I made the decision without him being here? The cell phone Alice had given me started to ring. It was Alice.

"Bella, I had another vision. Where is Jacob?"

"He went after the robbers."

"Ohh" She sounded like she got some clarification on having the vision, which would not had happened if Jacob was here.

"Bella, you need to do it. He is losing too much blood! I saw Charlie in my vision as one of us. It will be fine."

I took a deep breath. Not that I needed air, but just force of habit. I hung up the phone and opened the box that I was holding. I took the syringe out, which contained the venon that would make Charlie one of us. Charlie was unconscious, and I notice his heart beat was irregular.

I took another deep breath, holding the syringe in what I thought was the right way to do it, but my hands just froze in place… I couldn't… I was not strong enough and Charlie was going to die because of that.

Jacob was still not back, I ignored Alice's visions, convincing myself that they were subjective, and I reached for the cell phone. I felt as if I wanted to cry, but there were no tears. I still attached to my human life in so many ways…

I started to dial 911, hoping for the best, noticing that Charlie's heartbeats were becoming more and more irregular, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I felt his breath on the back of my neck, as he smoothly spoke.

"I am here now Bella, everything will be fine my love. Give me the syringe."

I felt safe. I turned around and handed the syringe to Edward. He then, passed it on to Carlisle, who was standing right behind him.

Carlisle gazed at me, as to ask for confirmation of what I wanted.

I nodded.

Edward had his arm around my waist, walking me to the far end of the room. Carlisle walked towards Charlie.

Jacob suddenly walked back inside. He seemed glad that Carlisle was there, Jacob trusted Carlisle's judgment. He came towards Edward and I and stood in front of me. Edward thanked him and that is when I realized Jacob was standing in front of me so I wouldn't have to watch Carlisle and Charlie.

I held on to Edward as tight as I could, with my face against his chest to make sure I did not see anything.

I held Edward even tighter when I heard Charlie screaming. I couldn't stand to see him in pain, but there was nothing we could do at this time, only wait the 3 days it would take for the transformation.

Carlisle quickly walked to David Harris, giving him some medical care.

"Will he be okay?" Edward asked before I could.

"Yes, he hit his head pretty hard, but he will be fine."

Carlisle picked Charlie up of the floor and started to give us all directions, confident and calm, as usual.

"Edward, you and Bella take Charlie straight to the house. Jacob will stay with me and help clean up and get the cover story for Charlie. When you get to the house, have Esme call in to report the robbery and call 911. That should give Jacob and me enough time to do what we need to."

Carlisle then walked Charlie to the car… Charlie was still screaming in pain.

Edward could read the agony in my eyes, as I realized that we never warned Charlie about the pain. We always assumed that the morphine would help with it. I just hoped that Jasper would be at the house and try to ease some of the pain.


	6. Chapter 6 The Last Human Feeling

Chapter 6

The Last Human Feeling

The ride home seemed longer than usual. I held Charlie's hand the whole way there, knowing that would do no good; there was nothing that I could do to ease the burning pain, the pain that none of us were ever able to forget; our last human feeling.

Jasper and Emmett were waiting for us by the front door. They both helped getting Charlie out of the car and got him into the guest bedroom. The guest bedroom was at the far end of the house, but it did actually have a bed, for appearance purposes. As they put Charlie on the bed I noticed that the right side of his chest, where he had been shot, was completely healed. He didn't seem to be in as much agony as before, but he was still in pain and discomfort. I gazed at Jasper, and he nodded, understanding my unspoken words. Jasper seemed to be able to ease Charlie's discomfort. Charlie still holding my hand closed his eyes as if he was asleep.

We had only been home for about thirty minutes, when Carlisle and Jacob walked in. They immediately came into the room to check on Charlie. Carlisle thought of still giving the morphine, but once he saw Charlie, lying down peacefully, he decided to leave him be.

Edward turned to Carlisle and in a concerned voice, he asked:

"Carlisle, how much of a mess was it? Do we have to move?"

"Everything is fine, son. The officer that was with Chief Swan has a bad concussion; he won't have a clear memory of what really happened. We took Charlie's cruiser and parked it outside his house. It is like he was never there."

"What about the robbers?"

Jacob quickly answered to that, with a grin on his face. "They won't be coming back to Forks… well, I guess my job is done here." He glanced at Charlie, shook his head and left the room mumbling something about how mad his dad (Billy Black) would be.

Edward then asked about Charlie's cover story.

"Well son, Charlie was prepared, more prepared than I thought, and that helped. We were hiding by the store when the back-up officers came in along with the ambulance. One of the officers was asking about Chief Swan, and we heard the other officer saying that he put in for a leave of absence starting this coming morning, due to some sort of family emergency. They just assumed that Charlie had to leave early."

We were all glad that was taken care of. I just wished those were the only problems that were ahead of us. I wondered if while we were gone, Alice had any other visions about the Volturi; I wondered if the Volturi would know that Charlie was no longer a threat to them, not that he ever really was.

I looked at Edward and asked him to get Alice for me. I did not want to leave Charlie, not even for a second.

Edward looked at me and said, in his soft voice, that there was no need to call Alice. He was reading her mind. Edward calmly explained that Alice just had another vision, but before telling me what the vision was, he first assured me that everything would be fine.

"What is it Edward?" I asked impatiently.

"The Volturi changed their plan. They are still coming, just to reassure that Charlie is no longer a risk…. There are now just 3 of them coming: Aro, Demetri, and Elizabeth."

I knew Aro and Demetri, but that last name did not sound familiar.

"Elizabeth?" I asked, trying to remember if that was someone we met.

Alice then walked into the room.

"Thanks for the fine introduction to my vision, Edward." She said in a sarcastic tone.

"Bella, in my vision, Elizabeth is the one who warned the Volturi about Charlie's theories, and now, she warned them about Charlie being one of us. She must be a new addition to the Volturi's collection. Her power seems to be somewhat like mine, only her visions relate to what is happening at the moment."

I felt uneasy, but was then distracted by Charlie's strong grip on my hand. His eyes were still close.

Alice turned to Charlie and then back to me.

"His transformation is occurring faster than it should. I am not sure why, but it should be over soon."

Carlisle, looked puzzled, as were the rest of us.

I looked out the window to notice that the sun was rising. Renesmee would be up soon, and I suddenly reminded myself that we did not know how Charlie would react to being a newborn vampire. Renesmee, being half human, could be a temptation to his thirst. I looked at Edward and Carlisle horrified by the concern that just crossed my mind.

I voiced my concern and they both agreed that Renesmee would need protection until we knew how Charlie would react to humans, or until he could control his thirst, which could have been a while.

I felt a stronger grip on my hand. Charlie opened his eyes, which were now red, and spoke; his voice was soft, but he spoke with authority and assurance.

"Bells, please don't take Nessie away. I won't hurt her!"


	7. Chapter 7 Newborn Charlie

Chapter 7

Newborn Charlie

Seeing Charlie as a vampire felt strangely "normal". Aside from physical changes, such as his pale, ice cold skin and his red eyes, he seemed to still be the same Charlie.

The transformation did not seem to bother him, he asked no questions nor did he comment on what had just happened. His only concern seemed to be Renesmee.

As he got up from the bed, which he would no longer need for the rest of his "life", he looked at me, as if he was seeing me for the first time. He just stared for a while and then spoke.

"Bells, I missed most of your childhood; that is the one thing that I ever regretted. Please, don't make me regret missing Nessie's too. You know I won't hurt her."

I just looked down, as I didn't know what to say. Unfortunately, Alice could not have visions about Renesmee, so there was no way of knowing if Charlie would be a danger to her. However, Charlie was right, I couldn't just keep him away from Renesmee; we had to at least try to see how he would react to her.

Carlisle was amazed with how smooth and fast Charlie's transformation had occurred. Charlie was calm, and seemed to be in control of his actions. Maybe he would be able to control himself around Renesmee after all.

I suggested to Carlisle and Edward that we brought Renesmee to see Charlie, there were enough of us to stop Charlie if anything went wrong; besides, I could use my own power, my shield, to protect her, if there was a need to.

Edward hesitated, but he finally agreed to it, as long as Carlisle and Emmett each stood next to Charlie. Charlie started laughing at our plans to shield Renesmee from him.

"Bells, how can you even think I would hurt Nessie? That is the most insane thing that I have ever heard."

Carlisle started laughing along with Charlie and then turned to me.

"The Swan's certainly have a certain predisposition to accepting the vampire world, don't they?… I think he will be fine Bella, but I would like to take him hunting before he sees Nessie, just as a precaution."

I agreed; that seemed like a good plan. At least Charlie would not be thirsty. I figured while they were out hunting, Edward and I could prepare Renesmee to see Charlie.

Carlisle and Charlie went hunting right away. Carlisle said they would go hunting close by, so they would only be gone for a few hours. In a way, I wish I had gone, it would be interesting to see Charlie hunting for the first time, but I am sure that Carlisle would share the details later on.

Edward and I went to Renesmee's room. She was awake, playing with Rosalie. I sat on the floor right next to her. Rosalie left the room to give us some privacy.

"Nessie, honey, we need to talk about grandpa."

"Are we going to see him today?" She asked in an excited voice.

"You will." I assured her, and she smiled. "…but grandpa Charlie is a little different now."

She looked curious now. "How is he different?"

"He is more like us now. He will be around more, and he will be able to go hunting with you."

"REALLY?!" I guess I should not have made this sound so fun for her.

Then Edward quickly interrupted.

"Nessie, it is possible that grandpa is a little grumpy at first, he is new to all of this. We just want you to understand that if he gets a little moody, you may have to stay away for a little while, until he gets used to everything."

In the most confident voice, she said, "Daddy, it is grandpa, he doesn't get grumpy around me… We are going to have so much fun hunting!"

Edward just shook his head and smiled, then looked at me and whispered.

"I hope she is right, no one will be able to keep her away from Charlie."

About two hours later, Rosalie came and asked if she could take Renesmee outside to play for a little while. Rosalie communicated with Edward through her thoughts that Carlisle and Charlie were back.

Renesmee went to play with Rosalie, while Edward and I went to check on Charlie, who was with Carlisle in his study.

We walked in to Carlisle's study, and noticed that Charlie was in an excellent mood. Charlie was now wearing something that was clearly picked out by Alice, way too dressed up for Charlie.

"So, how did it go?" Edward asked, curious and eager for details.

Carlisle answered before Charlie had a chance to open his mouth.

"It went great. He is a natural… he even got lucky; his first prey was a bear... Charlie will be Emmett's new best friend."

We all laughed, including Charlie. Carlisle had told him Emmett's story on the way back to the house.

"Where is Nessie?" Charlie asked eager to see her.

Edward offered to go get Renesmee as well as the others.

When everyone came back into Carlisle's study, Jacob walked in last, holding Renesmee's hand. I rolled my eyes, knowing that was a sign of trouble.

Edward gazed at Charlie and started laughing.

"It is the wolf." Edward said, answering Charlie's unspoken question.

We all looked at Edward confused.

"Charlie was wondering what the bad smell was."

Jacob didn't look happy, but he was used to it by now.

"You don't smell so good yourself, Chief Bloodsucker." Jacob said sarcastically.

Charlie ignored Jacob's comment, giving Edward an evil look. "I am not sure what it is with you, kid; but I better not catch you reading my mind again."

Edward smiled.

Renesmee was in the back on the room, with Jacob still holding her hand. I noticed she had been trying to get to Charlie, but Jacob was holding her back.

Charlie slowly walked towards her, with Emmett and Carlisle by his side. Jasper was also there, monitoring Charlie's mood. A change in his mood would be a sign that I needed to shield Renesmee, but nothing changed. Carlisle asked Charlie if he was fine, and if he was thirsty, but everything went smoothly. Except for the fact that Jacob was overly-protective of Renesmee, and it would only be a matter of time before Charlie found out the reason for Jacob always being around. As far as Charlie knew, Jacob still had a crush on me and that is why he stuck around.

Renesmee was now talking to Charlie, holding his hand. Charlie's interaction with Renesmee was a lot like before.

Charlie had asked her how her day was, but she was more interested on how her day tomorrow would be.

"Are we going hunting tomorrow grandpa?"

Charlie looked at me curious. "She hunts?"

"Yes dad, her appetite is just like ours."

"Well Nessie, I guess we will be going hunting tomorrow."

Nessie smiled.

Jacob mumbled. "We will see about that…" But his comment was ignored.

Everyone's mood was much more relaxed now. Charlie was even making a few jokes about how Renee would probably love to be involved in everything that was happening. I shivered at the thought of Renee seeing us right now.

In the far corner of the room, I noticed Alice smiling.

She glanced at me, still smiling. "Our visitors are coming early!" We all froze in place, but for some reason, Alice was giving us the impression that something about their visit was good. I couldn't even imagine the Volturi ever being related to anything good…

"When will they be here?" Carlisle asked.

Alice, still in a good mood, said the word that I feared the most. "Tomorrow!"


	8. Chapter 8 Hunting Trip

Chapter 8

Hunting Trip

In preparation for the Volturi's arrival, we all went hunting that night. We went in two separate groups. Alice, Carlisle, Esme and Rosalie went first; the rest of us would go once they returned.

Emmett basically begged to go with our group, he seemed amused by the fact that Charlie liked to hunt bears as much as he did. Jacob also insisted on going so he could "protect" Renesmee.

Carlisle and the others took a little longer than expected. It was already getting light outside when we finally left the house. We wouldn't go too far, we wanted to be home before the Volturi arrived.

Emmet and Jasper walked in front of us, leading the way; Charlie was right behind them, with Renesmee holding his hand. She was ecstatic to have Charlie going hunting with her. Jacob was right behind them, which seemed to frustrate Charlie. Edward and I walked a little further back; holding hands… it was pleasant having Charlie with us now, with no more secrets.

We felt quite peaceful, considering the fact that we would have the Volturi coming in a matter of hours. We walked slowly, enjoying the moment, when Edward came to a sudden stop. He looked puzzled, almost out of place; lost.

I gazed at him, concerned.

"Bella, there is something wrong with me. I can't read anyone's mind."

Charlie chuckled.

"This is quite fun!" Charlie said in a sarcastic tone.

"Did you do this dad?"

"Well, don't act like this is a bad thing Bells. It is not very nice being this nosey. Edward shouldn't be reading people's minds like that."

Emmett was in disbelief and could not stop laughing.

"It is about time someone blocks his mind reading. I was tired of controlling my own thoughts around him."

Edward was frustrated, infuriated. I tried to calm him down, but it wasn't working.

Charlie turned to Edward and jokingly said. "Alright, if you can't function without being nosey go ahead…"

Edward relaxed a little. "Emmett, Rosalie would not be happy to hear your thoughts about Bella, and honestly neither am I. Please keep your thoughts to yourself!"

"WOW…Dad, how are you doing this, turning his powers on and off?"

"I don't know Bells. It sort of just happened. I only realized what was happening when Edward here got all uptight about not being able to read minds."

"Can you do this to anyone?" Jasper asked curious.

"I don't know. I guess I need to know what you can do before I can shut it off. I can't stop something that I don't know what it is."

"Let's try it." I said; eagerly to know more about Charlie's new ability.

At this point we were all stopped in the meadow. I called Jasper by my side and explained to Charlie that Jasper could control emotions. I asked Charlie to try and turn off Jasper's ability. Then I asked Jacob to say something to Charlie that would upset him. That was not hard for him to do.

"Wonderful, Chief bloodsucker has powers!"

That alone was enough to set off the frustration in Charlie's eyes. Only, the frustration did not go away.

We were all amazed. Charlie's ability was to turn powers on and off. Between my shield and Charlie's new ability, we might even have a chance to deal with the Volturi in a hostile situation.

We all agreed that we needed to focus. We got back on track and started hunting, but not before I promised Charlie that later on I would tell him what everyone's powers were.

Nessie led the way, still holding Charlie's hands. She stopped and took a deep breath, catching the scent of a bear.

"Grandpa, can you catch a bear for me?" She asked with her sweet voice.

"Well, that sure is an odd request." Charlie chuckled. "Sure Nessie. Stay right here."

Charlie looked at Emmett and said. "Are you coming?"

Emmett followed Charlie and that poor bear never had a chance.

We all finished hunting and headed back to the house. We were eager to share the news with the others.

As soon as we walked in, Emmett was already calling out everyone's name: "Carlisle! Alice! Rose! …"

They all came down from different rooms of the house, except for Alice. Alice had gone shopping, so she was probably too preoccupied to have any visions about Charlie's power. This didn't happen often, but we finally got to tell everyone something new, something that wasn't spoiled by Alice's visions. Alice meant well, but she always took credit for telling all of the exciting news.

"How was the hunt?" Carlisle asked.

"Great!" Emmet answered with a grin.

I interrupted Emmett before he said anything else. I was eager to tell everyone else what had happened. "We actually have some news to tell you Carlisle. Charlie has a special ability."

"Go on…" Carlisle said, eager to know more.

"Charlie can turn other's powers on and off."

"Really?!"

"We will show you."

I asked Charlie to turn off Edward's power.

"Wonderful." Edward said, rolling his eyes.

I asked Carlisle to think of something. "Think of something that you know for sure that Edward would react to."

Carlisle was deep in thought for a few seconds. Then he gazed at Edward, and was surprised when he noticed that Edward did not react.

"Impressive!" Carlisle was amused.

Alice walked into the house with what it looked like a new closet full of clothes. She actually had gone shopping for Charlie. Alice shopped for all of us; Charlie would get used to that…eventually.

As expected she already knew about Charlie's power. She said that his power was related to the skills that he acquired on his job throughout his life. It was a tool that he would be able to use to protect anyone who was against an evil power, such as the power of some of the Volturi's.

We all suddenly felt safer; Charlie could alone, protect us from any of the Volturi.

Alice went to the guest room, which was now Charlie's room, to put the clothes away. A few minutes later, she came back down stairs, in a cheerful mood.

"Our visitors are almost here!"


	9. Chapter 9 Visitors

Chapter 9

Visitors

We all anxiously waited for the Volturi to arrive. All of the times that I met with the Volturi … I don't even think I despised Victoria or James, as much as the Volturi. I just hated their little mind games! No matter what Alice's vision was, I could feel that they were up to something.

There was not much time before they arrived. Edward and I agreed that there was no need for Renesmee to be here when they arrived; they were not here for her, and none of us wanted the Volturi anywhere near Renesmee, so we asked that Rosalie and Jacob would take her to Charlie's house until the Volturi were gone. I instructed Rosalie that if anyone asked what they were doing there, to just say that Charlie had asked them to take care of the house while he was gone.

They left right away, Jacob was fussing about Rosalie going with them, but he would get over it. Charlie was also not happy about Renesmee being out of his sight; after all, he had heard us talking about the Volturi in the past two days, and he was as unhappy about their visit as the rest of us…well, except for Alice.

We tried to get Alice to share her visions with us, we were all wondering why she was so calm about the Volturi's visit, but she refused to share, saying that if we knew, things could change. Even Jasper was left in the dark, not knowing what she had seen.

Carlisle and I debated whether Charlie should know what the Volturi's powers were. He already knew about Elizabeth (the new Volturi)'s powers. We ended up telling him what Demetri's power was, we did not want him tracking Renesmee, so Charlie was going to disable Demetri's ability. We decided to keep Aro's power from Charlie to avoid the Volturi from knowing that one of us was doing that. Hopefully that would work. Although, the thought of watching Aro's power vanish, even if it was for a little while, would be entertaining.

We heard a loud knock on the front door. Edward and I froze in place. He moved slightly so that he was in front of me. Charlie looked as if he was on a job; cautious and attentive. He came and stood by Edward's side. I literally had to take a step to the side so that I could have a view of the front door.

Carlisle slowly opened to door, welcoming Aro. He was there alone!?

I turned to Charlie and whispered so Aro could not hear me.

"Dad, did you disable the Demetri's power?" I asked nervously. I wasn't worried about the other one, Elizabeth, but I did not want Demetri tracking Renesmee.

"Yes Bells." He said, never taking his eyes off of Aro.

"Welcome, friend." Carlisle said looking behind Aro to see if anyone else was there. "Do you come alone?"

"This is not like our last visit Carlisle, this is only a … casual visit. But I did not come alone. The other two are hunting."

Aro noticed Carlisle's concern and answered his unspoken question.

"Don't worry my friend; they are not hunting in your precious town. They are well aware that you establish permanent residence here. We would never damage your living arrangements."

"Thanks you! Come in Aro. I believe that you have already met everyone. Well, except for Charlie."

"Wow, another addition to our beautiful family…" He just sounded so … fake! I was already getting irritated. Edward took a step back and put his arm around my waist. That relaxed me a little.

"Actually Aro, Charlie had always been family, even before; he is Bella's father."

Aro pretended to be surprised. "Wonderful! And how is the child?... There is no need to hide her from us. We mean no harm. As I said, this is just a casual visit."

I noticed Charlie rolling his eyes. I whispered to him. "Dad, behave."

Carlisle kept talking to Aro as if he believed his visit to be casual.

Carlisle chucked… "Renesmee is doing wonderful and of course, we are not hiding her. Renesmee is in town with two others, running some errands."

"Two others?! Is there another addition to the family other then Charlie?"

"No, she is with Rosalie and Jacob."

"Oh! So you are still hanging out with wolves?"

They both laughed.

Carlisle kept the conversation as casual as possible. "So, how long will you be staying? Do you need a place to stay?"

"Not long. We have some business to take care of in Seattle, so we are just passing through. We should actually head back to Seattle for the night, but we would like to come back tomorrow for a longer visit. And we would love to see the child again."

Edward and Charlie's eyes got darker with anger. I am sure Aro noticed, but he chose to ignore it.

"I don't believe that will be a problem, Aro. We would love to see you and the others tomorrow."

"Wonderful. I do have to get going now, there was a bit of a mess in Seatlle that we need to clear up. I will be back tomorrow. It was wonderful seeing everyone again."

We all just stood there, trying to figure out the true reason behind his visit. Carlisle walked Aro to the door. As he walked back, puzzled just like the rest of us, Charlie was already on the phone demanding that Rosalie and Jacob came back with Renesmee. They seemed to hesitate, so Edward took the phone from Charlie and told Rosalie to come back.

I looked around looking for Alice. I was determined to make her tell us what her vision was. She was in the other room and seemed horrified.

"Bella, my visions keep changing. I think it is the Volturi, changing their decisions on purpose to confuse me. I really can't understand. It is almost like each of them are making opposite decisions!"

Edward came into the room.

"Alice calm down. Your mind is so confused right now; I can't even understand your thoughts. Tell us what you see." He demanded.

Alice looked at us, hesitating whether she should share her visions with us. Finally, she agreed to share her vision, under the condition that Charlie did not know what it was. I didn't understand her request, but agreed to it.

Edward went to the other room to make sure that Charlie was not at a hearing distance, and Alice started to tell me what she had seen…


	10. Chapter 10 Conflicted Visions

Chapter 10

Conflicted Visions

Alice made me promise not to tell Charlie about her visions; she did not want that impacting his decisions, well, as long as he made the correct decision according to whatever Alice expected.

"I promise Alice. Just tell me." I demanded anxiously.

"The Volturi are not here to reassure that Charlie is one of us."

"We all already know that, Alice." I was getting frustrated.

"Elizabeth is not the only new addition to their family, they have someone else; her name is Scarlett. Scarlett has been with them for a little longer then Elizabeth has; she had a very unique ability, she is able to predict what someone's power will be. Because of her they already knew what Charlie's power would be, even before he was turned."

"So they tricked us into turning Charlie?!"

"Not necessarily, we all knew it was only a matter of time before Charlie was one of us. But what we need to focus on now is that the Volturi want Charlie on their side; a part of their coven. They also hope that if he goes, we will follow and join their coven as well."

I laughed.

"Have they lost their minds? What makes them even think they have a chance of getting Charlie to go?"

Alice took a deep breath; her eyes were darker and she hesitated in telling me the rest.

"Bella, there is more to Elizabeth than what I have told you. I am sorry I kept it from you until now, I just didn't think that would be a problem."

"What is it Alice? Does she have an additional power? You are scaring me."

"No Bella. The Volturi know a lot more about your human life than you think. Elizabeth was created for a reason. She was created with the purpose of convincing Charlie to go with her. The Volturi actually spent a lot of time and resources in searching for the right person, the one who would have the potential of being Charlie's mate."

"This is hilarious…" I shook my head in disbelief.

"It actually makes sense Bella. The Volturi managed to find someone whose personality would seem attractive to Charlie; Elizabeth is a lot like Renee. The Volturi's plan is for her to be Charlie's mate. They are using her to get us all."

I was amused, speechless… The extent that the Volturi would go through to get what they wanted was just…repulsive. I wasn't sure I would be able to keep my promise to Alice; not to tell Charlie. I had to warn him.

For some strange reason I also stated to feel sorry for Elizabeth. I wondered if she would blame Charlie for being the reason her human life was taken away from her.

"Alice, why don't you want Charlie to know that Elizabeth will be just using him?" I was intrigued by her reasoning.

"That is the problem. I think they managed to keep all of this from Elizabeth. I am truly not sure. In my visions, her feelings for Charlie seem sincere. I think she may be the one making the decisions that are the opposite of the Volturi's decisions; the reason for my visions to keep changing."

"But if she has visions, just like you; even if they are not in the future, how can she be so …clueless?"

"I thought about that as well, but I don't have an answer. Everything about her just seems complex. I considered that maybe she is pretending she doesn't know anything, as if it is for her own protection. That is just a speculation, but it is the only thing that makes sense, other than the Volturi finding an alternative way of keeping that from her; blocking that part of her visions."

"Ugh! I cannot stand them. Maybe we should send Charlie away for a few days. Maybe he could stay at mine and Edward's house for a few days… that should keep him from meeting this Elizabeth."

"You know the Volturi, Bella; they won't give up so easily. That would just make them stay longer. Besides even with my visions changing so much, never once, I saw Charlie leaving. I think we should wait and see how things go. If he plans on leaving, then we can intervene."

Alice's plan sounded reasonable. I didn't want the Volturi hovering around until they got their way. I just wanted them gone, so things could go back to normal.

I nodded in agreement with Alice's plan; however, something was bothering me.

"Alice, Charlie has been alone for a long time… You said Elizabeth's feelings seemed sincere. What if they are meant to be? What if Elizabeth and Charlie do end up together but they decide to stay?"

Alice shivered at the thought of that. "Bella, I can only assume that if that does happen, we will have even bigger problems. The Volturi won't let one of their own creations just go, especially after all the time and effort they spent on searching for her. If that does happen we only have two choices, and the first one doesn't really count: one of us could join the Volturi, as an exchange for Elizabeth or to confront them."

The fear of a confrontation was visible in my expression. I knew that the Volturi's visit was not casual, but a part of me wished that I was wrong.

"Bella, Charlie and Edward are coming; if Charlie sees you like this he will know that something is wrong."

I put on a cheerful expression; although it was likely that Charlie would read right through me. I asked Alice to share our discussion with Carlisle, he always had good advice, and he knew how to deal with situations like this better than any of us.

Edward came into the room, but without Charlie.

"Where is… "

I didn't have to finish my question. "Nessie, Jacob and Rosalie just got back. Charlie was coming with me but when he heard Nessie, he went the other way… That is probably best anyway if he didn't see you right now."

Edward could see the agony in my eyes, but he had no questions, he had read Alice's mind. He knew everything that we had talked about.

He put his arms around me, and with a reassuring voice, he said, "Alice is right, now that we know their true intentions, we should just allow things to happen on their natural course, and intervene if we need to."

I just nodded in agreement, but this time, it seemed that confrontation was the only solution.


	11. Chapter 11 Unpredictable

Chapter 11

Unpredictable

At that point, there was nothing to do but wait for the Volturi to return.

Charlie was sitting on the couch, watching the baseball game with Emmett. It was almost as if Emmett had become the son that Charlie never had. They seemed to have so much in common, from watching sports to hunting bears. Emmett was really starting to grow on Charlie.

The ball game must have reminded Charlie of Billy; Jacob's father, they usually watched a lot of the games together, but that was not the only reason that I assumed the game had reminded Charlie of his best friend. Charlie broke his concentration from the game, looking at Jacob, and started a conversation which was bound to be unpleasant.

Charlie seemed frustrated and intrigued. I noticed by gazing at Jasper, that Charlie had blocked off his ability. My suspicion was confirmed when Jasper walked in my direction and whispered in terror. "This is not going to be good."

Charlie spoke in a mean tone, he sounded like he did when he was at work.

"Do you ever go home Jacob? I am sure Billy needs you around the house. When exactly did you move in with the Cullen's?"

"Dad?!" I could not believe how rude he was being.

Carlisle tried to lead the conversation into a different direction, trying to calm things down. He assured Charlie that Jacob had become part of the family, and that we were all happy to have him here. His sincerity made Charlie feel bad about what he had said.

"Sorry kid, I am just worried about Billy." It pleased me that Charlie referred to Jacob as "kid" instead of wolf.

Jacob said he knew that Charlie meant well, and that while he was here, the others were helping out his dad. He was not alone. Jacob did sound a little down, as if he was also worried about Billy.

"Alright kid, but I am also a little worried about you. You should get out there and meet a nice girl. I am not trying to be mean or embarrass you, but Bella has been married for a while now, nothing is going to change."

Emmett chuckled and opened his big mouth. "He is not here because of Bella, if he was, Edward would have finished him by now." He laughed without even realized what he had done.

We all gave him an evil look, and by his expression we knew he finally understood that he made a mistake.

Charlie had not missed a thing. He demanded to know why exactly Jacob was here so much.

He would find out sooner or later, I just wished the timing was better.

I asked Edward to take Renesmee and Jacob for a walk. He hesitated in leaving me to deal with this alone, but I assured him that I would be fine.

"Please, Edward." I asked in a low voice. He finally agreed.

Jacob was fussing, saying that he had nothing to hide and nothing to be afraid off.

I was getting frustrated. "Just go Jacob, if not for you; do it for Nessie."

The three of them left. Charlie looked impatient, but he was finally starting to see things clearly. "Is Jacob here because of Nessie?

I gazed at Emmett and saw that he was holding back a smile. He just loved drama. I ignored him, and directed my attention to Charlie, confirming that Jacob was indeed here because of Renesmee.

"Bella! Nessie is not Jacob's daughter, is she?! Even as he asked that question he already knew that was not the case.

"Eww! No, DAD. You know that Jacob and I were never more than friends… Besides, how else would Renesmee be half vampire? ... and she looks just like Edward!" I shook my head in disbelief that he even thought of that possibility.

"So, what is it then?" He asked impatiently.

I turned to Carlisle and asked him to explain. He was better than anyone else in keeping calm and making things clear. I just hoped that he would be able to explain without setting Charlie off in any way.

Carlisle started talking about wolves' legends. Charlie listened respectfully, but seemed confused to what that had to do with Renesmee and Jacob. Finally, Carlisle got into the topic that I feared. He started talking about imprinting. He explained it as carefully as possible, even giving examples of how imprinting worked when there was a significant age difference; how it was related to protection and making sure the other person was happy. I could not have done a better job in explaining it all, but throughout Carlisle's explanation, Charlie's expression changed, from impatient, to furious, and then it was just a blank expression.

I had the impression that suddenly, all of this new reality had got to Charlie. He didn't seem mad, just overwhelmed. Even jasper was in shock, confused by Charlie's unexpected emotions.

Charlie stood up, and calmly informed us that he needed to go for a walk, just to process things; to make sense of everything. I hesitated in letting him go by himself. I turned to Alice and she said she did not see anything bad happening, that he would be nearby.

Charlie rolled him eyes at me; I knew that was because I had checked in with Alice to make sure he would be fine.

He walked out the door and a few minutes later, Edward, Jacob and Renesmee came back inside the house. Edward asked me what had happened, he explained that Charlie had blocked off his ability, and since the time that he walked out the door he had been unable to read anyone's mind.

Rosalie took Renesmee to her room while we told Edward and Jacob everything that had happened.

Alice suddenly looked as if she was dizzy.

"Are you alright Alice?" I asked concerned.

"Yes, but I can't see anything. The last thing I was able to see was Charlie walking into the woods. He is blocking my visions."

At that point, we were all concerned, except for Carlisle.

"Let's just give Charlie some time and privacy. I am sure he will be fine, and if he is not back within the hour, we will go look for him."

… That hour was definitely going to drag by. Every sound coming from the driveway made me jump. Edward was now playing the piano, trying to calm everyone's nerves, since Charlie also had blocked off Jasper's ability.

I would have to have a serious talk with Charlie when he got back. We didn't need him playing with our abilities when the Volturi were so close by.

I started to panic. What if the Volturi weren't in Seattle like they said they would be? Carlisle noticed my agony. I could not wait any longer… Before I could say anything, Carlisle spoke.

"I am sure Charlie is fine, but let's go ahead and look for him. It should be a few hours before the Volturi return; it is best if Charlie is here with us… Emmett, Edward, you come with me. The rest of you stay here in case Charlie returns.

I was not about to just stay at the house and wait. "Carlisle, I can't just stay here." Anxiety was evident in my voice.

Carlisle agreed, instructing me to stay with Edward and he would take another path, with Emmet. "Just follow the scent. It may be a weak scent because of our abilities being disabled, but there will still be a scent."

Edward and I searched for what seemed to be hours before we finally saw Charlie, sitting by a lake.

Charlie was not alone, and shockingly, he was smiling. His company was a stunningly beautiful woman. She was pale, with long and curly light brown hair, and her eyes were the same beautiful color as Edward's when he was not thirsty, and just like Charlie, she also smiled.

Edward and I stared at each other, wondering if we should interrupt. I could not remember the last time that Charlie had smiled like that.

We slowly approached them. Charlie saw us, and he did not seem upset that we were there.

"Bells, I am so sorry, I must have lost track of time. I didn't mean to worry you."

He sounded sincere. "No problem dad."

Still smiling, and in a soft voice he said, "Let me introduce you… Bella, Edward … this is Elizabeth."


	12. Chapter 12 True Motive

Chapter 12

True Motive

I now understood Alice's initial reaction to Elizabeth's arrival. Elizabeth seemed to be truly a good person, or should I say, a good vampire. She was almost like a mixture between Esme and Renee; motherly, playful, adventurous…

Charlie had explained that right before Edward and I got there, they had been talking about Renesmee. It seemed that Charlie and Elizabeth had time to discuss a number of things. It was unusual to see Charlie sharing this much about himself; he usually just kept to himself, much like me.

Elizabeth seemed delightful to be around, but she was still a part of the Volturi's coven and that still concerned me. It wasn't helping that Edward was still unable to read anyone's minds, so we couldn't be sure of her true intentions; although, I had the feeling that her actions were sincere.

Edward's cell phone started to ring; it was Carlisle.

"Yes Carlisle, we found Charlie." Edward paused for a few seconds. "We are by the lake… Should we wait here or head back to the house?"

Edward was about to tell Carlisle that Elizabeth was with us, but hesitated. Charlie then asked for the phone so that he could have a word with Carlisle.

"Dr. Carlisle." Sometimes Charlie seemed to forget that we were family, referring to Carlisle as "doctor". Listening to Charlie talking to Carlisle, made me realize how much Charlie already knew about Elizabeth. "I have someone here who needs to speak with you about the Volturi. It is important. She can't risk to be found talking to us before they get here, so we are heading back to the house." We assumed that Carlisle agreed. "We will see you in a few minutes."

I turned to Charlie, not sure if I should say anything in front of Elizabeth. She seemed to get the hint that I wanted to talk to Charlie in private, as she distanced herself for a few minutes.

I whispered, trying to keep her from hearing me. "Dad, it will help to know when exactly the rest of them will be back, if you leave Alice's visions alone." Charlie laughed. "I guess I forgot." He said sarcastically. I thought that asking to leave Edward's ability alone was a little too much, so I moved on, leading them back to the house.

We were trying to hurry, so there was not much discussion on the way. We got back to the house in a matter of minutes. Alice seemed to already fill in everyone that the visitor was Elizabeth; although, they had already assumed that.

Carlisle and Esme both welcomed Elizabeth.

I approached Alice to see if she had any new visions, and she whispered saying they were still very confusing.

"There is not much time." Alice said, "Aro and Demetri will be here in an hour."

Elizabeth had explained that Demetri thought she was hunting, so she would need to meet them back by the lake.

Carlisle noticed that she only mentioned Demetri's name. "Does Aro know where you are?"

"He does actually. He asked me to come. We don't have much time, so I will try and explain as much as I can."

We were all intrigued, wondering what Aro was up to this time.

"Aro is very concerned about how things are going back in Italy. You probably have not heard any rumors, because they are doing a great job in hiding what is happening, but truth is, the Volturi lost a lot of credibility over the past few years, and with such credibility loss, they also lost many talents. Besides Demetri, the only ones that have been with the Volturi brothers for over 3 years are their mates, as well as Jane and her brother." I shivered at the thought of seeing Jane again. Gladly no one noticed my reaction; they were all attentive to what Elizabeth was saying. No one interrupted her with questions; we all just listened, quietly.

"Then, give or take, two years ago, the Volturi brothers found Scarlett. That seemed to be a blessing, a great addition to a new collection of powers; she was able to predict what someone's power was. They shortly found out that, she could also tell what human's powers would be once they were turned, and then things got worse. Aro's brothers, against his will, used her to pick out humans with potential to do great things, only they were newborns with knowledge of their power, but no control."

That was the first time I had ever seen Carlisle in shock. "How much of damage are we talking about?"

"They had to destroy most of the newborns once they realized the lack of control, but that has not stopped them. Aro can't stop his brothers on his own. He needs help. Scarlett knows what Charlie's power is and Aro's brothers want Charlie to use his ability and help to control the newborns. Aro told his brothers he would come and bring Charlie, but that was just an excuse to be able to ask for your help in dealing with his brothers; however, his brothers did send Demetri to spy on us, so they must believe there is something else happening."

"And how do you suppose that we could help?" Carlisle asked.

"Aro was hoping that Charlie could disable Scarlett's ability, as well as his brothers. Their experiments are getting out of hand and there is much risk of exposure."

I could hardly process everything that she was saying and I felt the need to protect Charlie, I did not want him involved. "But, we don't know the exact capabilities of his power. I don't even think it would work in such a distance. Besides, what if they come after him?"

Elizabeth listened to all of my concerns, and in a calm and understanding voice said that Charlie's job as a human; as a protector had prepared him for much greatness. She assured us that he would be able to protect our kind, as well as humans, just by eliminating abilities that were deemed dangerous for both humans and vampires. She and Aro were ready to join us in case we needed any kind of protection.

I gazed at Alice to notice she was calm and smiling, as if her confused visions were now explained. Aro was saying one thing to his brother, while his intentions were the opposite.

I was now more relaxed, knowing the true reason for their visit. "So what do we do now? What about Demetri?"

Elizabeth seemed to have everything planned out. "I will meet them and will follow them here as if nothing happened. Aro will come and offer a place for Charlie with the Volturi. All he has to do is hesitate first and then eventually say that he agrees. Aro will take Demetri home with him, and will order me to stay and leave with Charlie in a few days. Once they are gone, Charlie can get to work."


	13. Chapter 13 One Last Request

Chapter 13

One Last Request

Elizabeth left to meet Aro and Demetri; she was expected to return soon, along with the others, so we did not have much time to discuss everything that we had just learned.

Everyone seemed appalled by the Volturi's most recent actions. Charlie seemed eager to take on the job. Truth is, he missed working, and that seemed to be similar enough to his job.

That new "job" seemed to bring a new concern to Charlie's mind.

"You know, my leave of absence was supposed to be over next week, I might need to come up with another excuse to be away from work for longer."

"We will come up with something, dad".

Truth is; we had much more to deal with than just the Volturi. It had come the time to leave Forks. Everyone was aging, but us. It was inevitable that we would need to relocate for a couple of decades, and then we would be able to return when Fork's population had completely changed. Now that Charlie was one of us, the only person holding us back now was Jacob.

My mind wondered off around those concerns, when the door bell rang. I focused on the Volturi, we needed to deal with this first before all of the other issues that we had coming our way.

Aro, Elizabeth and Demetri came in. Charlie seemed to be a lot better in acting than I ever was… pretending not to know Elizabeth, in front of Demetri. Although, he kept staring down at Demetri, like he just wanted to reach across the room and grab him by the neck. Demetri seemed irritated; we knew that Charlie had disabled his ability a few days ago, and he had not been able to track anyone or anything for a few days now. It was quite entertaining to see Demetri like that.

Everything went as planned. Aro presented Charlie with the opportunity of join the Volturi, he hesitated at first, saying that he planned on going back to his job; the, finally, he agreed to his offer.

Aro said he and Demetri would be going back to Volterra today, and that Elizabeth would wait and go back in a three days along with Charlie; giving him time to put things into order around here. We all pretended to be upset with the planned events and Demetri seemed to believe all that was agreed to.

Aro and Demetri left. Jacob now felt that Renesmee was safe, so he went to see his dad.

Elizabeth now stood by Charlie. He looked at her in the same exact way that I remember him looking at Renee when I was a child.

"So… What now?" Charlie asked Elizabeth.

"Now, I will fill you in on the Volturi coven and each of its members' abilities. We do not want to create chaos right away, so we will start off by disabling Scarlett's ability. My visions should be able to tell if doing that from such distance will actually work. Then we move on to the next move from there."

Carlisle seemed concerned, as if something about this plan was not right.

"What about Aro? If this plan does not work, won't he be at risk once his brothers realize his betrayal?"

"Yes." Elizabeth said in a low voice. "Aro is willing to take that risk. He actually had a letter that he wanted me to give to you, Carlisle; but we shall first test the extent of Charlie's ability."

Alice and Elizabeth both started working together, focusing on Scarlett. Alice had a vision that Scarlett would soon be searching for humans with potential for useful abilities; Elizabeth gave Charlie the signal to disable Scarlett's ability, and so he did. Now we just had to wait to see if it worked.

We all waited anxiously.

Alice suddenly screamed in a way that I had never heard her scream before. Fear was clearly present in her voice. "STOP! Charlie, give Scarlett's ability back!"

Charlie was confused, but he followed Alice's request, immediately requesting an explanation.

"We cannot take this chance Charlie. I could not see in my vision if this will work, but I did see the Volturi coming to us before we could get to them, which leads me to believe that it did not work. Aro was not with them. We need to be closer, to be certain that it will work, so none of us will be at risk."

My first thought was Renesmee, I did not want to take her near that place, but at the same time, I could not leave her here. I also could not allow Charlie to go without me.

"How close to them do we have to be?"

Carlisle interrupted me with a back-up plan already in place. "We should all go. I believe that we should be in Volterra when action is taken, so we can monitor and control things more effectively. Once that is done, Aro should be able to take over and we will return… and Bella, I don't think Jacob should know. We will be back in a matter of days. I hate doing this to him, but maybe we should involve Billy and ask that he keeps Jacob in the reservation for a few days, for his own protection."

Elizabeth agreed that Carlisle's plan was well thought out, so did the rest of us; although, we did not look forward to leave the comfort of our home. Still, something seemed to bother Elizabeth. She was hesitating, but finally she took a white envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Carlisle.

"I think you should read this, even if Aro is safe; for now."

Carlisle opened the letter right away, and read it out loud, so that we could all hear it.

_Dear Friend,_

_The situation that we encounter is much more complex that any of you imagine. There is a risk that I may not be around much longer, but if I am, have no doubt that I will be on your side. I understand that dealing with my brothers is too much to ask, especially considering the circumstances, but your coven is the only one strong enough, with the right abilities to not only defeat them, but to take on the job that we, the Volturi are known for. Your family is the only one able to enforce our rules, protecting our secrets, protecting our kind, as well as protecting humans from our own kind. _

_Aro_

We were all speechless. I was still trying to process what the letter asked of us. Seeing Jasper and Emmett's excitement over it was a sign that my assumptions were correct. Aro wanted us all to not only defeat the Volturi, but to take over their role in our world.


	14. Chapter 14 Italy

Chapter 14

Italy

Edward made all of our flight arrangements and Jasper took care of getting Charlie a passport. We decided that would be best to split in three groups, taking different flights, so that we could more easily blend in.

I explained to Renesmee that we were going away for a few days and that we needed Jacob to stay here, assuring her that she would be able to talk to him on the phone; she understood. I just wished Jacob would be that easy to deal with.

Edward, Charlie, Renesmee, Elizabeth and I left first. We were the largest group. Then Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie went on the next available flight. Alice was just so excited about being able to shop in Italy, not that she had never done that before. Esme and Carlisle would leave a few hours later. We decided they would explain to Jacob that we had a family emergency and that we had to leave town. We figured he wouldn't overreact if Carlisle explained to him in person, what was happening, assuring him that Renesmee was not in danger and that we would return in just a few days.

I often wondered what Jacob would do when we left Forks. We knew the time was coming sooner than we liked, but I just could not imagine Jacob leaving the reservation to follow us to wherever we went. I was also not so sure about how Charlie would react; he never lived anywhere else.

Our flight went smoothly and time went by fast. This had been Renesmee's first flight and she just loved it. She sat by Charlie and talked to him pretty much the whole flight. Charlie enjoyed the quality time he was getting with her, without Jacob hovering.

Once in Volterra, we all met at the hotel. The plan was to not even see the Volturi; only to be close enough to disable their abilities and then go back to Forks.

I panicked at the thought that once we left, the distance between them and Charlie would lead the Volturi to regain their abilities. I froze in place as I realized that if that was how Charlie's power worked, we would have to be near the Volturi for … eternity!

Everyone seemed too preoccupied with making plans to notice my expression. If Edward was here he would have certainly noticed, but he was helping Emmet with the suitcases. Throughout my anxiety attack, Demetri crossed my mind and I realized that he was the answer. I wondered if when he left Forks, he ever regained his tracking ability.

I called Alice and Elizabeth and asked if they had any visions related to Demetri.

I heard Elizabeth chuckle.

"If you are trying to find out if he has been able to use his ability, the answer is no." she laughed. "He is so frustrated; he is hoping that once Charlie "joins" the Volturi, as he believed it would happen; that Charlie will give back his ability."

I was able to relax now that I knew the Volturi would not get their ability back and come after us. So, it seemed that Charlie had to be somewhat near someone to disable their ability, but once that was done, only Charlie could reverse that; distance was not a factor in undoing it. That was interesting. From all of Carlisle's stories, I had never heard of a power like Charlie's.

We now just waited for Esme and Carlisle to arrive.

While we waited, Elizabeth sat next to Charlie and went over all of the Volturi's powers: Scarlett's, Jane's… When she talked about Jane, I just wished for a second that like Alice and Elizabeth, I could have visions, just to have a glimpse of Jane's face when she could no longer hurt anyone.

Carlisle and Esme arrived a few hours later. Elizabeth had sent Aro a message through someone she trusted. He would meet us within the next hour. While we waited, Charlie got to work. It did not take long. Seemed as if he had taken care of every Volturi within minutes; Alice and Elizabeth's visions were overwhelmed. Two things we knew for sure: every single one of the Volturi was angry, and they knew who had done it; unfortunately, Alice's visions were so overwhelmed that she could not see what they were planning.

Aro arrived. We hoped he would have some insight on how his brothers behaved; he may be able to predict some of his brother's plans.

"Aro!" Elizabeth seemed happy to see him, to know that he was not harmed.

"Hello everyone." Aro said in a pleasing tone. "Very nice job, Mr. Swan… I left the house just when they started to realize what was happening."

"What is the plan now, Aro." Carlisle asked intrigued.

"Well, that is what I came here to talk to you about. I can't enforce our rules by myself, so I propose a partnership. I am trying to get some of our old member back, now that things are handled; but your coven is still the strongest, the largest."

"What type of partnership do you propose?" Carlisle seemed even more curious now.

"You all could go back to your town, and run things from there. I would stay here, and warn you of anything out of the ordinary. I will have to pretend not to have my ability, so my brothers won't suspect my role in this."

We suddenly heard Charlie speak, in a shaken voice. "And where would Elizabeth be?"

Aro gazed at Charlie.

"I owe you more than you imagine. I believe that I will have to leave that decision up to Elizabeth."

Elizabeth seemed surprised by Aro's willingness to let her go. She gazed at Aro, and then she tilted her head down. "I will go with the Cullen's if that is all right."

Aro assured her that would be fine. I actually saw Charlie smiling.

Carlisle still seemed concerned, as he continued asking Aro questions.

"What about your brothers, what do you think they will do next?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Carlisle. I will be around and keep you informed on their moves, but I assume that with or without their abilities, they will come to Forks after your family. When that happens, I will send help; although, it is likely that you won't need it."

Carlisle just nodded; I was sure that we were all thinking the same thing. This family responsibility that we acquired was going to keep us busy for a very long time.

Aro was about to leave when he turned and faced us all, and with a warning tone he said. "I don't suppose that you all will be staying in Forks for much longer… this is just a possibility, but knowing my brothers, I suspect they may soon have a plan. Their angle may be the reservation that you have come to protect. If you leave your town, just make sure the wolves are prepared."

I felt awful as I turned to Edward to find Renesmee in his arms, with her head turned against his chest; she cried, asking to see Jacob.


	15. Chapter 15 Plans

Chapter 15

Plans

Carlisle suggested that we stuck to our original plan and stayed in Italy for another two days, to keep a close eye on the Volturi. Alice loved that idea; once we all officially settled down, she went shopping dragging Esme and Elizabeth with her. She also tried to get me to go, but shopping was not my idea of fun.

Renesmee had calmed down, mostly, due to Jasper's influence. Edward and I took her to a quieter room so that we could call Jacob. I was surprise that he was the one who actually answered the phone, for some reason I expected Billy to answer saying that Jacob was not in. But there he was, and was he upset! He went on and on about how we should not have left without talking to him, without him saying goodbye. In my mind, I wanted to just argue back, after all, we would only be gone for three days. I did not want to upset Renesmee, so I just cut him off, saying that she wanted to talk to him.

They talked on the phone for a little while, than Renesmee passed the phone back to me. Jacob was now much calmer; his voice wasn't as loud and angry.

"Sorry about earlier Bella, are you still coming back when you said you would?"

"Yes, we are." I assured him.

"Good. I will see you then."

As soon as I hung up the phone, Rosalie came in and asked if she could take Renesmee shopping. Edward and I gazed at each other, he seemed pleased with the idea; it would be good for Renesmee to go out. They would go shopping outside of Volterra, so the chances of encountering a Volturi were highly unlikely.

Carlisle said he had some things to discuss with Jasper, Charlie and Emmett; that he would bring us up to date on it at a later time.

Edward and I did not have any idea what that was about, but we took the opportunity to spend some quality time together.

Outside of our room, there was a beautiful balcony, with a great view of the city. We just stood there for a few hours, remembering the good parts about the last time that we had been here. I stood there, in the comfort of Edward's arms, thinking about everything that happened to us since. I thought about how lucky we were to have Renesmee, and how lucky we were to be all together. I looked at Edward, to see that he was smiling; I could tell by his expression that he was probably having the same thoughts.

After a while, just standing there, holding each other, Edward said that we should go back; his voice was smooth and calm. He kissed my forehead and we went back to Carlisle's hotel room, where we had left him with Charlie, Emmet and Jasper.

Curiosity started to take over my mind. The others were still not back, and I wondered if we would have to wait for them to find out what their discussion was about.

Carlisle chuckled as he noticed my curiosity. Emmett, as expected gave his input.

"Let's make them wait, this can be fun!"

I just rolled my eyes; that was typical Emmett behavior.

Carlisle laughed, but then, began speaking.

"I will just tell you now, and I will explain to the others once they return…. We were just discussing a plan of action to enforce the rules, if we need to. We all know that Jasper has a lot of experience with newborn vampires, which are the ones most likely to break the rules. So, I am putting Jasper in charge of any tasks that we may come across. Alice and Elizabeth should be able to make the predictions that will help him in getting to the source of a problem. Emmett and Charlie will work with Jasper. Emmett is fast, that always helps in dealing with newborns."

I was already certain of Charlie's role in this, so I just finished Carlisle's sentence for him. "… and dad will disable the ability of whoever is creating problems."

"That is correct." Carlisle confirmed. "Now, we do not want to destroy anyone. Newborns need to have a chance to know the rules. If after given that opportunity, they still create problems, then we may have to take further actions."

"That makes sense, but I want to help." I couldn't picture myself just going on with daily things while some of us, were working to protect so much.

My wiliness to help seemed to upset Charlie.

"Bells, there is no need for you to be in any danger. You have Renesmee to take care of."

Edward interrupted. "Carlisle, I would also like to help."

"Son, you both will get your chance to help. Depending on the situation or how many we are up against, we will revisit our plans. Remember that we also need some of us to stay somewhat near the reservation in case they need protection."

I wasn't pleased, but there was no point in arguing with Carlisle, especially when he had Charlie on his side.

The others arrived all at the same time. Rosalie had called Alice, and they met in the city. Alice and Rosalie had gotten everyone so many clothes and shoes. I wasn't too happy about having to pack all of these extra clothes. I wondered if Alice bought extra suitcases; we would surely need it.

Edward took Renesmee to our room so she could go to sleep; as they left, Carlisle told everyone else what the plan of action was. They all agreed. Alice gazed at Jasper and could not stop smiling; she was pleased to see Jasper so happy. It was if he had found purpose in being what he is.

Carlisle asked that Alice tried to focus her visions on complications caused by newborns.

Alice seemed concerned. "Carlisle, it might take a while to get my visions working in such way. I am so used to just focusing on our family."

"Don't put too much stress on yourself Alice. Just do your best."

Alice seemed more relaxed now. I was willing to bet that Jasper had something to do with that. I could feel that he was controlling the emotions in that room.

We would leave Italy in the morning, so we all went on separate ways. Charlie and Elizabeth came with Edward and I. We all talked to Charlie about our experiences with newborn vampires, their strengths, weaknesses, and so on.

As the sun started to rise, we heard a knock on the door. It was Jasper.

He said that Alice had been trying to focus on her visions for hours, and that she finally had one. He went on to explain what she had seen, eager to get to work.

"Alice saw two newborns, a male and a female. They were abandoned by their creator, and they have been causing some problems in a small town in New Hampshire. It should be easy work."

Charlie also seemed eager to get to work. It was good to see him like that. "So what is the plan, he asked Jasper."

"Emmett, Elizabeth, Alice, you and I will take a flight to New Hampshire. The others will return to Forks."


	16. Chapter 16 Forks

Chapter 16

Forks

We all got home the next morning. I felt helpless; I could not get the others out of my mind. I wished I was able to be in New Hampshire helping them, we all did.

Jacob came over to the house a few minutes after we arrived. He seemed happy, as if he had already forgotten the way that we had left. He hugged Renesmee and welcomed us back to Forks, looking around, wondering where the others were.

Edward was clearly reading Jacob's mind as he answered his unspoken question. "The others had to make a stop in New Hampshire."

When Jacob asked how our trip was, Carlisle asked him to have a seat.

"This can't be good." Jacob said in an alarmed voice.

Carlisle started to explain everything that had happened in Italy. Carlisle explained Aro's prediction; the threat that they presented to the reservation.

Jacob seemed puzzled. "If the Volturi are this angry, why don't they just come straight after you?"

Carlisle answered that question in a way that we now all understood Aro's reasoning.

"The Volturi have relied so much on their abilities over the past decades, centuries, that now they are probably feeling vulnerable. They know that they would not have a chance if fighting us directly. On the other hand, going to the reservation would be an indirect way of attacking us… They know the relationship that we have built and they know that we would not be allowed inside the reservation; we would not be able to protect anyone inside the reservation because of our treaty… So our hands are tied. One way or another the treaty would be broken by our kind, whether it is us going in to protect you or them going in to cause chaos… This is just a possibility, but knowing the Volturi, it is likely to happen sooner or later. They are angry and they won't let it go."

We all listened carefully. Jacob seemed to take all of this in quite well. He was calm and relaxed. "I will we warn everyone in the reservation."

As I looked around, seeing our family missing so many members worried me. I was even more concerned when I realized that without Alice and Elizabeth, we might not know when and if the Volturi are coming.

Carlisle noticed my concern. "Bella, is everything all right?"

"Carlisle, Alice's visions are probably focused on a different direction right now, she may not see them coming; she may not be able to warn us."

Before anyone could even react, Seth and Sue Clearwater stormed through the front door. They were both out of breath and with a blank look of their faces. We all just stared at them shocked, as Seth blurted out the reason for their being here.

"A couple, a man and a woman in the 30's were attacked by something in the reservation… They did not make it."

Carlisle was asking Seth for more details when the phone rang.

I answered.

The voice on the phone was whispering. "They are there." That is all he said, hanging up right after finishing his sentence; but the message was clear.

I dropped the phone, and in a broken voice I said. "It was the Volturi."

Everyone just stood there, I felt impatient, as if time was being wasted. Edward looked at me in shock, as my voice became firm, and I started giving orders, to everyone!

"Sue, take Renesmee to Charlie's house and stay there until one of us comes to get you. Rosalie, go with them to make sure they are not being followed, then meet us at the reservation."

Rosalie looked confused. "Won't that break the treaty?"

We all gazed at Jacob.

"I will go to the reservation and let everyone know that you are coming. Seth will escort you. I am sure that they would rather have you in the reservation helping protect everyone, then have those bloodsuckers there attacking people."

We all left the house. Rosalie took Sue and Renesmee in her car, everyone else decided that having our cars in the reservation would be a warning that we were there, so we just ran. As we got into the forest, we could already smell their scent, which was now faded; they had been near the house a few hours ago.

Everyone in the reservation was divided in groups. Most people were either at Jacob's or Seth's house. Rosalie got there not much longer after us. We split into groups ourselves, tracking different locations in the reservation. There were no sign that they were still there. We met back at Jacob's house and then decided to follow their scent into town.

Carlisle suggested that Jacob and his pack stayed to protect the reservation. They all agreed with no hesitation.

We were able to determine that there were only two scents present, both familiar scents: Demetri and Scarlett. Both scents were leading us into town, becoming stronger as we got closer to… Charlie's house!

My legs were shaking, I could barely move, Edward sped up to Charlie's house. At that moment I couldn't even think. Thinking of Renesmee, I found enough strength to pick up the pace and caught up with Edward.

The front door to Charlie's house was open, Edward ordered me to stay outside with Esme and Rosalie, but once he realized that would not happen, he just ordered me to stay behind him.

We walked in to find Sue on the floor, screaming in pain, she seemed to have a broken leg. Carlisle rushed to her side to give her medical treatment. She was in tears.

Panic took over my body and mind.

"Where is Renesmee?!?" I had never been so afraid in my life.

Sue, still sobbing, managed to get a few words out. "They came in and took her. The man… Demetri… said she will be unharmed. He said you will get her back once you give back what you took from them."

Edward's eyes turned dark with anger, and I could tell so did mine. Without sharing a word, or having any plans, we left the house following Renesmee and Demetri's scent.

There were now only two things going through my mind: getting Renesmee back and destroying the Volturi.


	17. Chapter 17 Searching for Renesmee

Chapter 17

Searching for Renesmee

Demetri and Renesmee's scent led us to the wooded area by the clearing where we often played baseball. Scarlett's scent at one point along the way, drifted to a different path, but we decided to follow the one that had Renesmee.

I heard a sound coming from behind Edward and I; it was Rosalie. I assumed hat Carlisle and Esme had stayed behind to care for Sue Clearwater, who had been severely hurt by Demetri and Scarlett when they came and kidnapped Renesmee.

Once I acknowledged that Rosalie was with us, I just looked straight forward and kept going. I felt as if I stopped even for a second, I would have a nervous breakdown. For a moment I thought that looking into Edward's eyes would possibly relax me, reassuring me that everything would be fine, but I was so wrong.

Edward was by my side, focused on nothing but tracking Demetri. I had never seen Edward so furious; his eyes were dark, full of anger. This was the first time in our lives, or should I say, in our existence, that I saw Edward for who he was, a vampire; a hunter.

Demetri's scent was getting stronger; we sped up. The scent led us out of the wooded area, into an off road track, and that is where the scent started to fade. We noticed tire tracks, which explained their scent fading away. There was now no way to tell how far they had gone, or where they had gone.

Edward and I looked at each other. We were both lost; unsure of what we should do.

"We will find her." Edward said trying to reassure me, but his voice was weak, as if he wasn't sure himself.

Rosalie took charge of the situation.

"We should go back and find Carlisle, he ought to know someone with the ability to help us find Nessie."

That seemed to be our best option at the time, so we followed Rosalie as she led the way back to the house. Carlisle would surely have taken Sue there as he had the necessary medical equipment to care for her.

We were about a mile away from the house when we heard voices nearby. They were familiar voices; it was Charlie, Alice, Emmett and Jasper.

"Dad!" I ran to Charlie and he gave me a hug, trying to console me. It was strange, seeing Charlie this affectionate.

"We will find Nessie. " He whispered, in a convinced tone.

I wondered how they knew about what had happened. "How did you know?"

"Alice had a vision when Demetri was planning on coming to get Nessie. We tried calling, but it was too late. We rushed back, getting on the first available plane."

"I am worried dad. They don't know how different Renesmee is. They don't know her diet, her sleeping habits… What if they make her feed of a human?!"

Alice, in an attempt to make me feel better, started talking about her vision. "It will be okay Bella. Demetri was never planning on hurting her. He really just wants his ability back."

Charlie looked at me, noticing how worried I was.

"Bells, we will get to Nessie before any of that becomes a problem… In Alice's vision, she saw where Demetri and Scarlett were staying before they got Nessie. They are probably going to the same place right now. Elizabeth confirmed that is where the Volturi stay when they come."

"But we can't be sure dad. Alice can never see Renesmee in her visions…"

I was so overwhelmed that I hadn't noticed Elizabeth's absence until Rosalie asked where she was.

"She stayed in New Hampshire, monitoring the newborns that were causing trouble." I noticed that as Charlie was saying that to Rosalie, he was gazing at Jasper as if he was giving him a signal, and I instantly felt more relaxed.

I didn't hesitate in welcoming Jasper's control over my emotions. I instantly felt more in control, as I could think clearly.

"How far is this place where they stay?" I asked.

"It is about one hour north of here." Charlie said.

Charlie had yet to see how fast the Cullen's drove. I gazed at Alice, "How long will it really take us to get there?"

"About twenty minutes."

Charlie looked puzzled, as if that was in no way possible, but he did not say anything; he just followed us back to the house. We weren't sure how difficult it would be to get Renesmee back; safe, so we decided that we should all go. We would need to take at least two cars.

Time was being wasted. We rushed back to the house to get the cars; more specific plans would be made on the way to the place where the Volturi stayed.

Carlisle and Esme were standing outside, by the front door, waiting on us. Carlisle looked concerned and panicky, which was a very unusual behavior coming from him.

Edward noticed Carlisle's expression and he must have been reading Carlisle's mind as he immediately looked just as concerned.

"Is Sue okay??" I asked.

"She is stable." Carlisle assured us. "I gave her some pain medication and she is sleeping."

"So what is the problem?"

"Jacob and his pack… They got to Charlie's house right after you left. Seth stayed behind while they followed whatever scents they were able to track. Minutes later, they came back to get Seth; they followed Scarlett's scent, heading north of here."

I froze in place. Jacob and his pack were likely headed to where Demetri was possibly taking Renesmee. I feared that if the wolves got there before we did, they would react on instinct, putting Renesmee in even more danger.

I looked at the others, ordering Alice and Edward to go get the cars, they were the fastest drivers. We had to get to Renesmee before the wolves.


	18. Chapter 18 Distrust

Chapter 18

Distrust

There was not much time to catch up with Jacob and his pack. We knew exactly what time they had left and we assumed they should be very close to where we were going. It was times like this when I wished that Alice could see the wolves in her visions. I wished even more that Alice could see Renesmee in her visions; to make sure she was safe.

Carlisle, Charlie, Edward and I, went in one car; my "before" car, the one that Edward had bought me for protection, when I was still a human. We followed Alice, Emmet, Rosalie and Jasper, who went on one of Jasper's cars. Esme had stayed at the house, to watch over Sue.

Alice seemed to know exactly where she was going; she and Edward drove even faster then they usually did. I didn't have to lie to Charlie when he asked if they always drove like that.

"Never quite that fast, dad." I left it at that.

I could tell Charlie felt uncomfortable. He liked laws being followed, but he did not say a word. I assumed he just knew what was at stake here; if it wasn't for that, he would probably have arrested Edward and Alice himself. I knew that once things were back to normal, they would surely get a lecture about their driving.

"We are almost there." Edward said. I knew he was reading Alice's mind when he started explaining what would be done.

"Alice wants to park somewhere near here. It is best if they don't hear the cars. They have no special abilities, but they can still pick up on our scents, and their hearing capabilities are just the same as before. Once we get near, we need to act and we need to do it fast. That is, hoping that it is not too late.

We parked the cars in an empty parking lot in the nearest town. According to Alice, the Volturi's home away from home was about 3 miles into the woods. Alice ordered Charlie, Edward and I to go look for Jacob and stop him; once again, hoping it was not too late. She said the others would go and rescue Renesmee.

Neither one of us was pleased with that, but as much as I hated to admit it, Alice had a few good points about how we would act on instinct and possibly put Renesmee in danger.

Luckily, Jacob was smart enough to realize that they needed a plan. We found him and the others about a mile away from where we were going. They were all in wolf form, just about to split up and ready to attack when we stopped them.

"Jacob, stop the others!?" I ordered.

Jacob phased back into human form. He was furious. He came directly towards me.

"How could you?! How could you let them get Nessie?!"

Edward stood in front of me, shielding me from Jacob's rage.

"Get away from her, dog!" Edward hissed at Jacob. "This only happened because we were trying to protect your people."

Jacob laughed and with a sarcastic tone, he turned to Seth. "I told you Seth, this little friendship would not last long."

I was beyond irritated. "What is wrong with you Jacob? Get over yourself! This is not about you, it is about Renesmee."

"Fine, Bella! But just so you know, once this is over and Nessie is safe, we are going to revisit our situation."

"Oh, we have a situation?!" I said, rolling my eyes.

Jacob continued, his voice sharp and cold, "The treaty; I admit, it is partially my fault, I made way too many exceptions." As Jacob spoke, he was looking Charlie up and down.

The only good thing that came out from our little discussion was that it bought time for the others. Rosalie came towards me, holding Renesmee's hand.

Her brown eyes lit up once she saw us. She came running to my arms. I felt so relieved; I was checking her to make sure she was fine. Edward was reading her mind, and did not seem to find anything unusual. Then Renesmee started talking about the nice man and lady who had been playing with her and showed her all sorts of tricks.

I thought to myself that maybe Alice was right; Demetri did just want to get his ability back, and that is the only way he had found to get our attention.

"Where are the others?" I asked Rosalie.

"They are talking to Demetri and Scarlett; they would like us all to join them, but without the wolves."

I didn't even want to look at Jacob right now. He was going on and on about how he would not leave until he knew Renesmee was safe; although, he felt that now he would never know for sure that we could keep her safe… I had had enough!

"You know, apparently you weren't able to protect her either."

Renesmee looked at me a little disappointed, which devastated me.

"I am sorry Nessie, we are just a little stressed out." Jacob said in a much softer voice.

She gazed at Jacob. "It is okay Jake, we are all fine now." She walked towards him, using her own special gift, and showed him pictures of her spending time with Demetri and Scarlett.

Jacob agreed to leave but assured us that he would be around when we returned to the house.

As soon as we knew they were gone, we went to the Volturi's place. It was a surprisingly discrete house, in the middle of the woods. It couldn't possibly have more than 5 rooms total; it was small, and dark. Anyone in their right minds would be afraid to go in there.

As soon as Edward and I saw Demetri and Scarlett, all the feeling of rage came right back to us. Jasper wasted no time in controlling out emotions, and Carlisle began speaking right away; but first, ensuring that Demetri and Scarlett apologized to us. We said we accepted their apologies, but there was no meaning behind our words.

Carlisle went on to say that the mission in New Hampshire, with the newborns did not go as well as it should have and he admitted that the Volturi had much more experience in dealing with such things. Carlisle had made an agreement with Demetri. He would ask Charlie to return Demetri's abilities and well as the others, as long as they could work together in dealing with anyone who broke the rules; each of us in our own territorial zones. Carlisle demanded that Aro would be the one in charge and that if under any circumstances, the Volturi abused their power as the enforcers of our unwritten laws; Charlie would take away their abilities once and for all.

Demetri agreed to convey the message to the others in his coven, and as long as we were all in agreement, we would take action to make sure everything went as agreed.

We all seemed please with that option; of course, we still had to wait and make sure the Volturi was in agreement, but I did not see any reason why they would object. The best part of all this, was that Jasper, Charlie, and the others would not have to leave every time there was a troubling newborn causing problems.

Now there was only one main problem to deal with: Jacob!


	19. Chapter 19 New Beginnings

Chapter 19

New Beginnings

We returned to the house to find that Esme was alone. Jacob had come by to get Sue and took her back to the reservation.

Esme said that Jacob told her that we got Renesmee; that she was safe, but that was all he had said.

Jacob had always been respectful in the presence of Esme and Carlisle, so at any time he was mad at any of the others, he would just keep to himself, and that is how he acted when he came to get Sue.

None of us were overly concerned about Jacob; he just needed time to cool off.

A lot happened in the next few days. Jacob had not been over to the house and he only spoke to Renesmee whenever he called. We were unsure of where we stood with the treaty, so we just continued to honor it.

Our discussions on possibly leaving Forks were becoming more frequent. We lacked reasons to stay, although we did subconsciously made small excuses to prolong our stay for a couple more days. It seemed unreal that it would be decades before we could return, and start our lives here all over again.

Some of our time consisted of discussing where we would go, which came down to New Hampshire or Toronto, Canada. Edward and I had once talked about going to college in New Hampshire, so that was our preference. When we weren't making such plans, we were usually checking up on the Volturi.

So far, they had been obeying our agreement and not abusing their abilities. Elizabeth, who was now back with us, was still in contact with Aro; and Alice, used her visions to ensure that things were going as planned. Charlie also helped; he had realized that as a newborn himself, it would not be feasible for him to return to his regular job. People would know the difference; he hesitated, but ended up resigning. That would have destroyed him, if he wasn't so busy protecting our own laws.

Overall, everything seemed for the first time in a while, to be going smoothly, except that we hadn't seen Jacob in days.

We did hear from Sue, who was still recovering. She had made a trip to see Carlisle at the hospital where he worked, for a check-up. She told Carlisle that Jacob had been so furious, that he told his dad, Billy, exactly why Charlie had not been around. Billy had his suspicions, but he now knew for sure what Charlie had become. Billy of course, was not happy and told Jacob to distance himself from us, the Cullen's, and focus on his job, which was protecting the reservation. Sue said she believed that Jacob started to blame himself for not protecting the couple who had been attacked by Demetri and Scarlett, so he decided to follow his father's advice, or should I say, his father's order.

Carlisle said there was no need to tell Sue or anyone else that we may be leaving in a few days, assuring us that Jacob did need to focus on the reservation and it was best if he did not know what was happening.

Charlie agreed with Carlisle, he was still uncomfortable with Jacob's protection over Renesmee, and he though distance would be good for everyone.

***

There was just so much going on in a short period of time. That night, Charlie went to his house to get his belongings. He was still not sure what he would do to the house; he did not want to sell it. Carlisle suggested that he hired a realtor and rented it out. After all, real estate and investments seemed to be a good way for vampires to make money.

He couldn't have been there for long, when he called me.

I couldn't even describe his tone, "Bella! When was the last time that you e-mailed your mother?"

E-mail had become the only form of communication that I had with Renee. She couldn't see me, and I am sure she would notice how different my voice was if I had called her. For years I had made excuses from being travelling to places with no cell phone towers, to missing each other's calls. Most of the times, Charlie would give her updates saying we were fine and such.

"It is been a while dad, you know we have been overwhelmed."

"Well Bells, I don't know what to do. She left numerous messages. Clearly I was not here to get those messages, so she is on her way…I tried calling her cell phone, but got a voice mail; same thing at her house."

I froze in place. Finally, I managed to get my words out. "Just hurry back dad, we will figure something out."

Alice and Elizabeth were so preoccupied with supervising the Volturi, that I could not blame them for not seeing this coming.

I went straight to Carlisle for advice. Edward and Elizabeth were also in the room, gazing at each other as if they were communicating through their thoughts.

Before Carlisle could even say anything, Edward gazed at me; he smiled and asked me in the sweetest tone.

"Bella, would you like to see Renee?"

"Of course I would. But you know I can't, she will know about us all, she will be in danger." I wasn't even sure why he had asked me that.

"Love, our anniversary is coming up, trust me, you can see Renee. I will take care of the rest. She can also meet Renesmee if you would like her to."

I noticed he looked at Elizabeth and nodded as if giving her a sign, and then she excused herself to make a phone call.

I just shook my head; that just did not seem like a good idea.

"Trust me." Edward said in the most confident tone.

I finally agreed; still not sure if that was a good idea.

Alice had redirected her visions to Renee and had seen that she was coming straight here from the airport. She was coming alone.

I heard Charlie's car in the driveway, and saw Elizabeth talking to him, I overheard her say that an old friend of hers, Desiree, would be over in a few minutes. I had heard her name before, but could not remember where.

Edward finally explained.

"Bella, I want you to enjoy Renee's visit. I know how much you miss her so I will tell you what I have in mind, that way you can relax and truly enjoy every second of it… Desiree's ability is to erase someone's memory and replace it with new ones, so Renee will always remember this visit, but she will see you as… as she did when you were human."

"And she won't be in danger."

"Of course not." He reassured me.

"What about Renesmee, will she remember her?"

"We will have to work out the details on that, but if you would like her to."

I nodded.

Desiree lived in Seattle, so she arrived quickly and went straight to the back of the house along with the others. I was alone inside the house, waiting, anxiously.

I finally heard a car coming. I imagined how my heart beats would sound and feel like right now, if I was human.

Before Renee could knock on the door, I opened it.

I would never forget her expression. She smiled and started to cry.

"Oh, Bella. You look beautiful."

She ran towards me and gave me a hug. She was still crying.

"I am so happy to see you Bella!"

"I am happy to see you too mom."

I was waiting for her to comment on my voice or on my looks, or even on how cold my skin felt; but she never did. She just followed me inside, asking about how everyone was and telling me about her new job.

"Mom, there is someone I would like you to meet. I am sorry you had to wait so long for this."

I called Edward's name, in a low voice. I knew he would hear me. "Edward, can you bring Renesmee?"

Edward came in, holding Renesmee's hand. She was smiling; Edward had told her who Renee was.

Renee's mouth hanging open, she was now sobbing. "Bella, she… she looks just like you!"

I smiled as Renesmee gave her a hug.

We talked and talked for hours, about daily things… not once Renee asked any questions. I am sure Renee knew something was going on; she was really perceptive, when she wanted to be.

The time to say good-bye was approaching. Renee seemed to get sad. She surprised me when she asked me the most difficult questions I would ever have to answer.

"Bella, I am not going to see you again, am I?"

I couldn't lie. I just looked down and shook my head. She came closer and hugged me.

"Please, at least keep sending me e-mails. And call, if you can. Now, I know your dad is here, would you go get him please."

"Mom, I am not sure if this is a good idea."

"Hi Charlie." She said. He was already standing behind me.

She didn't even react to his change. She just looked at him, smiled, still crying.

"Promise you will take care you Bella."

He promised.

Everyone else came back in the room and it was time for Desiree to do what she needed to do.

Desiree had a few words with Renee, and then Renee left. Desiree seemed amused, and I was confused, I wasn't sure that Renee had any of her memories actually erased. She didn't seem to act as if she had.

Renee left, and Desiree asked us all to gather around the dining room table, which was only used for family meetings.

Desiree seemed in a much happier mood than she was when she first came in.

"I have to ask a question for all of you; all of you who knew Bella when she was a human."

We all looked at her puzzled.

"Do you all remember her scent, what her scent was as a human?"

They all laughed and Emmett made a few jokes about how intoxicating my scent was.

Desiree laughed. "Wow" she said, "this was the most interesting day I have had in centuries."

"Can you tell us why?" Carlisle asked.

"I couldn't erase Renee's memories. But please, do not worry. Bella, she already knew. Your mom, she is different herself. That is why your scent was so different from other humans."

I looked even more confused, Desiree continued, as if she was eager to finally let out what she had learned.

"Bella, honey, your mother is a shape-shifter."

Everyone froze in place, in amusement. I knew that I would never hear the end of Emmett's jokes… but most importantly, I wondered if that meant I would be able to see her again. Only time would tell…

There were also many other things that only time would tell. The next day, we left Forks. Renesmee understood why we did not say good-bye to Jacob, she understood that the reservation needed him, but we all knew that it was just a matter of time before he came after us, before he came after Renesmee. We could only hope that when that day came, he understood that we left the way we did to protect the people in Forks, because we are truly different from the others of our kind.

_ The End_


	20. Author’s note

Author's note:

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the reviews!! … and please keep them coming, I really enjoy reading them.

Some of you have been asking if there will be a sequel to this fanfiction. The answer is YES. :) I will be starting it in a few weeks. It will likely be titled after the last chapter of Family Ties, "New Beginnings".

If you have added me to your author's list, you should get an update when it is posted.

Thanks :)

Daniele – (Dee Cullen)


	21. Chapter 21 Part II Memories

Part II

Memories

Leaving Forks had been difficult to all of us. It would have been decades before we could return to Forks, our true home; and once again, restart a new life.

For now, we were all getting settled in our New Hampshire home, where Edward and I were finally going to start College.

Carlisle had always said that the moving process would eventually become easy. He assured us that Renesmee, Charlie and I would get used to moving every couple of years, as long as we were able to leave the past behind us and keep on moving forward. Sadly that would not be easy with a daily reminder of our lives in Forks, a daily reminder of the wolves and the reservation; and that daily reminder was Seth.

As we were leaving Forks just a few days earlier, we had agreed that leaving without telling anyone would be for the best. Jacob needed to focus on protecting the reservation; his reservation, and it was decided it would be best if he did not know where Renesmee was.

At dawn, when we were preparing things to leave, we had an unexpected visit from Seth.

Seth had always got along so well with everyone in the family, it was almost as if he belonged to both worlds; wolves and vampires; but this time he acted different, as if for the first time, he was in charge of his own actions, without the need to look over his shoulders for advice or support from the wolf pack.

"Seth, what are you doing here?" I asked, hoping that we would be able to get rid of him without messing up our plans.

"I came to keep an eye on Nessie…" I immediately assumed that Jake has sent him, but without giving me time to say anything he continued to speak, taking us all by surprise. "… things changed more than you know. Don't worry, I am not telling Jake what is happening here, but in exchange, I am going with you all."

At this time, Carlisle entered the conversation, sounding calm as usual; he explained to Seth that he could not go with us. That if he did, Jake and the others would know where we were, matter of fact, now we needed to hurry even more and leave because it was likely that through Seth's thoughts, Jake already knew where we were.

Seth gave us an unsettling smile. "I told you, things have changed. The only reason why we were able to turn into wolves in the first place was because you all had come back to Forks. Before you came to Forks there was no threat, and therefore, no need for protection at the reservation. At the moment you made your choice to leave, I could no longer phase into wolf form. So, yes, we do have to hurry before Jake figures out that he can no longer phase, and trust me, I don't need to know what is going on in his head to know that he will be here as soon as he figures it out."

Carlisle's expression was unreadable. All he said was. "Let's go. Seth, you get in the car with Alice and Jasper."

And here we were, the Cullens, Charlie and Seth, who was a constant reminder of everything about the life that we were unsuccessful trying to leave behind.

There was however, one good outcome from Seth's presence; he made Renesmee's moving transition much smoother. It was as if she still had part of Jake with her.

None of us knew the true reason behind Seth's actions; behind his choice of coming with us. Seth even managed to keep this out of his thoughts, but one day, he slipped and Edward was able to read his mind.

That was the day that Edward found out that Jacob was not the only one who had imprinted on Renesmee. Seth had imprinted on Renesmee right before we made our decision to leave Forks. That meant that Jacob knew about that. We were now certain that our ties to our lives in Forks still remained. We were certain that Jacob would find a way to find Seth, to find us all.


End file.
